http://www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org/monthyupdates.htm
Dreaming of peace and the interesting projects created as dreams come true
happen daily on the Bridge. Join us. To learn more about The World Dreams
Peace Bridge, go to our web site at http://www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org,
or join the Peace Bridge discussion group by sending a post to
worlddreams-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
It is difficult to know what to think these days, when suicide bombers are
killing dozens of people, not just "our" people, but "their" people as well.
During much of August, the dreamers of The World Dreams Peace Bridge have
been dealing with this type of violence.
Recently, after the bombing of the UN offices in Baghdad, I wrote this
request to dreamers, not just on the Bridge, but elsewhere as well. You are
welcome to join us:
Dear World Dreamers,
I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the response
received from Veronica Avati at UNICEF Headquarters in Baghdad, and to
invite you to join in a World Dreams of Peace Week between August
26 and September 1, 2003.
Veronica and others at the UNICEF Headquarters in Baghdad have been
instrumental in introducing us to Dr. Karzan Jalal Ali who runs a clinic in
northern Iraq, through whose efforts we have attempted to facilitate our Aid
for Children Project. Here is Veronica's touching response to our
condolences about the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad earlier this
week:
Dear Mr. Campbell, many thanks for your sincere thoughts and words.
Unfortunately we lost a dear colleague and friend in Baghdad with so many
others working at the UN.
It is a tremendous shock for all of us, but I truly hope that for Chris,
Jill and so many others that lost their lives, we will be able to continue
and pursue our work for the well-being of the Iraqi children.
Sincerely and with so many thanks from the UNICEF office.
Veronica Avati
_________________________________________
For every child
Health, Education, Equality, Protection
ADVANCE HUMANITY
_________________________________________
Veronica Avati
Child Protection Officer
UNICEF Erbil - Northern Iraq
UNOHCI Int.Line: 001-212-963-4792 (ext.230)
Direct Line: 0041-22-909-5803 (ext.230)
e-mail: vavati@unicef.org
avativeronica@hotmail.com
Many of you have seen the message from Ralf Penderak in Germany, suggesting
that we dreamers take time to Join Hands Around the World, not physical
hands but our dream hands. We urge you to do this during this World Dreams
of Peace week, by setting your intent for us to together dream of peace and,
quite literally, join hands around the world.
If you would like to record your experience, you can do this by going to the
message board at the World Dreams Peace Bridge Reservoir
http://worlddreamspeacebridge.org/disc1_toc.htm
And actually, if you are feeling in need of healing, you might like to
explore the rest of the Reservoir pages as well.
Can we, together, create a peaceful world? We can most certainly dream.
Thank you,
Jean Campbell, Moderator
The World Dreams Peace Bridge
http://www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org
This was a difficult letter to write, but even more difficult to receive the
response from those we have come to know in Baghdad, through our work with
the Aid for Children program.
Dr. Ali's clinic is in Northern Iraq, and even though we have not yet been
able to send the first toys to him, we have corresponded quite regularly via
email. Today Ilkin sent a news article to those of us who have been working
on the Aid for Children project, talking about the worsening conditions in
Northern Iraq, due to ethnic conflicts.
Bridge member Jody Grundy sent the following response to the above post:
Dear Jean and all world dreamers,
Yes, I did read about the World Dreams Peace Week and Hands Around the
World. You have my hands and my dreaming mind, conscious and unconscious
joining in. I will offer whatever comes from these states of mind during the
"dream in."
I had read your letter of condolence Jean and am touched by it as well as
the response. Thank you for all of us. I wept when I heard of the bombing of
the UN in Baghdad and cannot stop thinking of those serving there as well as
all their loved ones and colleagues in the UN here. I feel as others do as
well I'm sure particularly poignant and deeply deeply saddened by the chosen
vulnerability of their mission in Baghdad. I do not know if it was wise or
not. Obviously to not have had more security was unwise with hindsight. But
symbolically it was and is important.
As you know my son David who is an ER physician and Captain in the US Army
Reserves is still there in the war theater. He has been serving in Kuwait
and has gone in and out of Iraq on med evacuation missions as well. Though
our communication has been limited we have had a more direct view than many
of what is happening and conditions there via his photos and letters. It is
indeed a living hell for all concerned, our servicemen and women as well as
the Iraqi people. David is hopefully coming out of Kuwait/Iraq sometime
between now and the end of August, returning to GA and then even more
hopefully, home by mid Sept. to Cincinnati.
I am aware that the peace dream in week is just during the period he is most
likely to remove from the war zone. Please keep him and the others removing
from that zone in your prayers and dreaming during this time as well that
they may make it out safely, both physically and psychologically.
I am grateful to you Jean and to all of you on the Bridge for your many and
continued efforts to keep reaching out your hands for peace. I continue to
do so with you in my own context, so know I remain part of this community
even if I don't write very often.
May: I owe you a special letter since I've dreamt of you since the Berkeley
conference. Jeremy:I owe you one too! thanks for your call before you left
the States. I was traveling and so missed the call. I have not forgotten the
idea of doing something here in Cincinnati with children for the Peace
Train.
Also, for everyone's interest I am thinking about a small gathering of
dreamers here in Cincinnati, OH on the theme of Dreams of Peace. I just met
with Phil King of ASD who many of you know lives and teaches in Hawaii.
However, his hometown is Yellow Springs, OH, about an hour north of
Cincinnati and he's on a sabbatical back home here in Ohio. I visited him
there today and spoke about this group and the idea of doing something
together on a gathering of Dreams of Peace.
So far it's just a seed thought, a very small seed of peace. But I'll draw
a little water from the Dream Reservoir and mix it with my own garden's soil
and see what sprouts.
Love to all and may peace that surpasses understanding fill us to
overflowing,
Jody Grundy
Earlier in the month, we celebrated A Day out of Time along with Thanks to
Water. These were some of the enjoyable things we do, and there were lots
of wonderful dreams. Also, World Dreams web master, Liz Diaz created a most
beautiful addition to the Reservoir pages for this event. To view the
healing energy of the Reservoir, go to www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org and
look for the Reservoir pages. We welcome you to join us there.
Many lovely things have been happening with the Peace Train as well this
month. There will be a Peace Conference in Turkey in October, sponsored by
IFLAC. Ilkin Sungu has been asked to assist in opening the conference with
a roundtable discussion about women and peace.
Here's part of a post a post she sent to a number of women dreamers:
I have to write a presentation paper for the IFLAC International Peace
Conference, which will be held in Turkey. I am a journalist and had been
wrote many articles about women issues before. But this time I have to write
an opening paper for a Roundtable Discussion on "Women and Peace; Can Women
Create A Massive International Peace Movement?". It is easy to write about
the history of women movements or what women suffers from the wars. But what
I want to write is what all of you, every one of you think about if it is
possible we can create this and how.
I want to write a song, be your sound of a song written every line from
another woman from around the world. Please write me what you think, what
you feel at least in a single line. I believe those lines will be a song, a
paper written by all of us from the farthest parts of the world and show us
our way for what can we do when we come together, sing a song together and
work for peace together.
At this same conference, Ilkin has also arranged for children from Koc
College to present a peace dance, and many of the Peace Trains created
through the Education Volunteers' summer program in Turkey will be
displayed.
Peace Train creator, Jeremy Seligson, traveled to Ecuador this summer after
attending the ASD Conference in Berkeley. He tells this story about the
Peace Train in Ecuador:
As for Ecuador, on the last day of my visit to the
Andean Highlands. I asked the guide if we could visit
a local school. We arrived at an elementary school in
a small town and were told that the students were
taking final exams and to come back in a half hour. We
returned from a volcano about 40 minutes later and saw
many students leaving from a door - oh, it was too
late! Then, the guide realized that this was a
kindergarten door and the elementary school was a
meter away. The students were still inside. The
principal and a teacher allowed me to address a class
of 30 6th grade, mostly Indian girls in their blue
pinafort school uniforms. They were charming and
serious, too. And sang out brightly as I asked each of
their names. "Jaunita ...!"I spoke in broken Spanish
but they could understand me and what I wanted from
them concerning the Ecuadorean Children's Peace Train.
With the help of Eloisia, who handed out paper and
crayons, they careful drew in margins on their pages
and began to draw pictures of peace in their lives,
sometimes calling out in Spanish, who has Red! Who has
Green ...!
I had hung up a poster from the Korean Children's
Peace Train on the white board in front for all to
see, and then as the girls finished the drawings one
by one I substituted their drawings for display.
Afterwards I asked of they wanted their pictures
taken. They got all excited and clustered up around me
their pictures held in hand in front of their bodies.
Unfortunately I only had my daughters throw away
plastic underwater camera and it seem out of order,
not turning as I tried to change the frame. But they
were so eager to have their pictures taken that I just
pretended to do so, arranging them in groups here and
there and requesting them to smile. This was fun for
everybody. I spun the dial of the camera and after a
while it seemed to be moving though there seemed to be
no indication of break between the pictures, and ata
last it read zero frames. If lucky maybe one or half
of once will come out! Que lastima! Right Liz?
Anyway I have enough for a nice little train and some
other people I met in Ecuador may help too.
And finally, on an even cheerier note, several people from the World Dreams
Peace Bridge have been participating for the past month in Harry
Bosma's(Alchera software creator from the Netherlands) More Lucid Dreams
experiment. It appears that they have not forgotten me, even though I could
not participate. Here is a recent post from Kathy Turner (Australia):
Jean - I think you must be popping in to see what is happening at Harry's
Lucid Dream project. THREE of us have dreamed of you in the last two
days!!! JILL dreamed you sent her a cheque for $5 (I think that is the
correct amount). LAURA dreamed you walked through her mansion dream in a
green peace T shirt. I dreamed I returned your photo to you. You were
pleased to have it back because your husband didn't like your lending it
(he'd given it to you initially). I had written a "thank you" note of four
words on the back in blue biro. I hoped that wouldn't cause a problem.
So Jean - what do you think of this??
Kathy.
Of course, one thing I think of it is that it confirms what I believe
already: that together we are creating the world from our dreams, that we
are present in one another's dreams not just as symbols of ourselves, but as
ourselves. And that, if this is true, then we can indeed dream the world
into peace, assuming that is our desire.
The World Dreams Peace Bridge is a group that uses personal dreams for public world peace. You can find out more about the WDPB at:
http://www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org
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